Breakdown of Op de tentoonstelling zien we de prachtige zonsondergang.
zien
to see
op
on
we
we (unstressed form of wij)
prachtig
gorgeous
de zonsondergang
the sunset
de tentoonstelling
the exhibition
Questions & Answers about Op de tentoonstelling zien we de prachtige zonsondergang.
Since this lesson is about present participles, how would I change "the sunset" (de zonsondergang) to "the setting sun"?
You would use the present participle of ondergaan (to set). The base present participle is ondergaand. Because it comes before a de word (de zon), you must add an -e to the adjective, making it de ondergaande zon.
Why is it zien we instead of we zien?
Because the sentence starts with the prepositional phrase Op de tentoonstelling. In Dutch, when you start a sentence with anything other than the subject, the verb and subject swap places (this is called inversion). The verb zien must stay in the second logical position, followed immediately by the subject we.
Why do we use op for "at the exhibition"?
In Dutch, you often use the preposition op (literally "on") for events, public locations, and gatherings. You say op de tentoonstelling (at the exhibition) just like you would say op de markt (at the market) or op het feest (at the party).
Why is there an s in the middle of zonsondergang?
Zonsondergang is a compound noun made of zon (sun) and ondergang (setting/downfall). The s acts as a linking letter (called a tussen-s) to connect the two words. This is very common in Dutch compound nouns to make them flow better when spoken.
Just to review, why does prachtig get an -e at the end to become prachtige?
It gets an -e because it is being used as a normal adjective directly before a noun. Since zonsondergang is a de word and the definite article de is used, the adjective gets the standard -e ending.
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